140 Field Meeting — KiRKcunBRioHT. 



of his personality. A fiue view of the enchanting-ly wooded Sen- 

 wick shore was got here, with the towering hills of Gatehouse in 

 the distance. The pleasant prospect, the calm waters of the Lake, 

 the soft note of the sea-gull, all called for a halt that the scene 

 might be thoroughly enjoyed. Near by is the Torrs Cave, which 

 some of the party visited and were somewhat disappointed with 

 on account of its shallowness. 



The company then made a detour toward Balmae, passing 

 on the way some old-fashioned- luiiket holes in the dykes. Through 

 the courtesy of the Countess of Selkirk, the party were shewn round 

 and through the beautiful and beautifully kept gardens by Mr 

 M'Gruffog, the gardener, and his principal assistant, Mr Cochrane. 



The members next walked to Townhead, passing- on the way 

 Caerbantorigum. At Townhead School the conveyance awaited 

 them and drove back to Kirkcudbright, where they had tea in the 

 Commercial Hotel. 



The Kirkcudbright party included Mr M'Kie, R.N. ; Mr 

 Hornel, artist ; Mr James Nicholson, antiquarian ; and Mr William 

 Thomson, the shoemaker botanist. The latter furnished the 

 following notes of the botanical plants he noted on the route : — 

 The first plants picked up were in a field at the Lake, the 

 Bladder Campion^ Silene infata, and a specimen of the wild carrot, 

 Dancnu. In the Lake Wood the wild hyacinth flourished with the 

 purple orchid. An abundance of the beautiful sea pink grew on 

 the shore, and in the wood there were observed the Dog- Mercury 

 and a profusion of the greater Stitchwork Stc.llariax; and just on 

 leaving the wood fine specimens of the Adder's Tongue fern were 

 got. While at Torrs Point the botanist of the party was requested 

 to indicate the locality of the Sea Kale, which appears in various 

 lists of the plants of the district. He unhesitatingly replied that 

 to his own personal knowledge there had been no such plant on 

 Torrs shore during the last fifty years, although he understood it 

 had once made its home in Flint Bay on that coast. Specimens of 

 Samphire are to be got between Torrs Point and the Cove, but 

 the excessive heat and condition of the tide prevented the botanist 

 securing" a specimen. The flora of the Torrs shore may not be 

 considered a rich one as compared with a more sandy shore, but 

 the cliffs are rich with the sea liladder. pinks, stone-crops, rock 

 rose, and the striking blue milk wort. A fine specimen of the 

 Scotch Loavage was got in the cliffs, and the common hemp 



